Say that Jennifer Lawrence did not appear to have a stranglehold on this year’s best-actress Oscar. Say that the Silver Linings Playbook star had not already endeared herself to the masses via refreshingly no-nonsense interviews during which she does not hesitate to order burritos the “size of a mailbox” or threaten to take out the knees of her peers. Then the actress might need help campaigning during the final awards-season push. If that were the case, she might call upon on her parents, who after this weekend’s SAG Awards ceremony, proved that they are just as charmingly down-to-earth as their daughter. The evidence was provided during anEntertainment Tonight interview during which Lawrence’s father, Gary, proudly compared her to “Secretariat in the Derby” while refusing to put down his glass of champagne—television-interview protocol be damned. Jennifer’s mother, Karen, meanwhile, spontaneously teared up when the microphone was directed at her, explaining, “I just can’t stop crying . . . I don’t have anything to say because we’ll embarrass her. We always do!” Jennifer, in turn, explained to her mother the mechanics of a microphone before covering her face and exclaiming, “Mom, stop crying . . . God, this is embarrassing.”

Meanwhile, on a less winsome corner of the red carpet, without adorable parents to distract television entertainment reporters, Lawrence’s Silver Linings Playbook co-star Bradley Cooper was pressed with questions about that Taylor Swift–romance rumorthat will not die. “Crazy, never met her. That’s not even true at all,” the actor, who has had less luck than Lawrence has this awards season, clarified. “That’s completely made up.” If only Bradley Cooper had Jennifer Lawrence’s parents to provide him campaign support! (Or to deflect attention during awkward Q&As.)